The Story of the Gigantes - (2)
Hastily heading towards Mount Olympus, I could already see countless Gigantes continuously flocking to the divine archery range above the clouds.
As I looked for an opportunity to join Zeus, a blinding light and a thunderous sound erupted, sending some of the Gigantes flying like ants.
Boom! Crash!
"Ugh!"
"Is this the lightning my mother spoke of?"
The attack that had just blown away dozens of Gigantes was Zeus's lightning, Astrafe.
And above, the shape of a massive furnace was overturned, spewing forth intense heat, which must be the power of Hestia...
Like a technique from a certain ninja manga I had seen in my past life, plants and trees sprouted abundantly, binding the Gigantes, a display of Demeter's strength.
"Hahaha! You're putting up quite a fight!"
"Come on, give it your all!"
While our individual strength was overwhelming, the overall situation seemed evenly matched.
The sheer number of them and the fact that each one was a divine being contributed to this, but there was something else at play.
It was not just the individual Gigantes but the 'flow' acting upon the collective known as the Gigantes.
Because of this, even with their overwhelming power, the gods seemed unable to easily conclude the battle.
I conveyed my thoughts to Zeus, the blond-haired god, who was frowning as he prepared another lightning strike.
[Zeus, can you hear me?]
[Brother Hades, what on earth brought you here?]
[I have already dealt with the Gigantes that came to the Underworld.
I will take care of the western side of Olympus, so do not throw Astrafe this way.]
[Thank you, be careful.
These creatures have incredible regenerative and recovery abilities.
Olympus expresses its gratitude for your help.]
Zeus... when did it become so casual to speak to this older brother?
Right, you rule the skies, don’t you?
I shook off my thoughts about the audacious younger brother and quickly navigated the battlefield.
Focusing on delaying the Gigantes' recovery with the power of death and breaking their formation, I soon saw their ranks crumble.
"Something's coming! Ugh!"
"An assassin whose presence I cannot sense, the Underworld god Hades!"
"Did our brothers who went to the Underworld fall victim to him?!"
As the injured Gigantes began to appear, having been attacked by something invisible, they finally noticed me.
To lower their morale, I deliberately removed my helmet and smiled coldly, causing them to react like overly enthusiastic fans meeting a celebrity.
"Hades! I will kill you!"
"You filthy rat!"
To respond to the warm cheers directed at my handsome self, I raised one hand in acknowledgment before donning my helmet again.
Hiding my form, I launched myself forward, and a burning oak tree soon crashed down where I had just been.
"He's vanished again!"
"Come out, you bastard! Aaaah!"
Though they were impatient, simple-minded, and strong in regeneration and power, the reason we had yet to defeat them was likely due to fate.
In Greek mythology, when strange events occur, it is often due to fate.
I would have to tell Zeus about this after the battle.
And unlike when they fought in the Underworld, these creatures did not die easily.
I considered unleashing my powers to sweep them away in large numbers, but since this was not the Underworld, the expected might would not manifest.
"Ugh!"
In the end, I had to cut them down one by one.
Leaving behind the blood-splattered Gigantes, I set my sights on the next target.
Turning back, I pierced through its chest.
For a long while, I swung my sword in a frenzy.
The Gigantes swung burning oak trees or hurled massive boulders, but they were not attacks I could not evade.
I sliced through snake-like limbs, jabbed at arms holding rocks, and dodged the Gigantes that attacked me...
Just as I was starting to feel bored, an unexpected event occurred on the now stagnant battlefield.
"What the...? The ground is shaking!"
"Is Mother Gaia angry?"
Rumble... rumble.
A small crack formed at the outskirts of the battlefield, gradually widening.
The Gigantes, caught up in the heat of battle, finally sensed something was amiss.
From a faint tremor, rocks began to move of their own accord.
From the shaking of grass, a massive oak tree was uprooted.
The ground began to shake more violently, and now it was as if it were glowing, overturning everything above it.
"Ha ha ha! I have arrived, Zeus!"
"Poseidon! You came at just the right time!"
This level of earthquake could only be the work of Poseidon's trident.
As the god of the sea, he had come to drive away the Gigantes that had encroached upon his domain and assist Olympus.
Poseidon's hearty laughter echoed across Mount Olympus as he firmly planted his trident into the ground, causing the Gigantes to panic.
"Ahhh!"
"I'm sinking into the ground! We need to retreat for now!"
"Damn it, Zeus. Just you wait!"
The numerous Gigantes, who had shown remarkable regenerative abilities and combat endurance on the surface, temporarily withdrew when the tremendous earthquake made it difficult to fight.
After the fierce battle with the Gigantes ended, I approached Zeus, who was wiping the sweat from his forehead and catching his breath.
I wondered what Mother Gaia had created to drive us away and if he knew anything more about this situation.
In front of Zeus, I posed my questions alongside Poseidon.
"Actually, there was a prophecy, big brother."
"A prophecy...? From the three goddesses of fate?"
The three goddesses of fate, the Moirai, daughters of Nyx, the goddess of night.
Clotho, who governs the past; Lachesis, who governs the present; and Atropos, who shapes the future.
The fate determined by these three goddesses, who appeared as old women, was absolute, and no god could defy them.
When Clotho spun the thread of fate, Lachesis determined the length of life, winding or weaving the thread, and when Atropos cut it, life was taken away.
"Our gods cannot win the war without borrowing the strength of great human heroes."
"Humans...? Was there such a race?"
"If there are no humans, we can just create them. We should ask Prometheus, who surrendered to us, to create humans in our image."
"That explains why the ones who came from the sea were so confident; they might have been influenced by the prophecy..."
"And those Gigantes are the offspring born from the blood of Uranus when he was castrated by Cronus."
"They may not be immortal, but they wielded the power of gods. We must be cautious."
"Hmph... even so, they cannot compare to us Olympian gods."
Everyone decided to sit in the Olympian palace and discuss detailed countermeasures.
There were suggestions to visit the three goddesses of fate again and ask them to slightly twist the prophecy, as well as to persuade Grandmother Gaia.
"First, let's create that human and think about it."
"We could also consider creating other life forms..."
"The number of gods is far too few. At this rate, we will only face defeat."
"We don't know when they will invade again, but they will surely come in numbers that cannot be compared to now."
Was this when the rational Zeus began to turn into a madman?
With the prophecy of human heroes and the ongoing war, the number of gods was insufficient, leading to a need for reinforcements... but please, no incestuous acts.
As the meeting dragged on, while I chatted with other gods, someone grabbed me as I was about to head back underground.
"Hades, come here for a moment."
Turning my head towards the small hand that tugged at my collar, I saw a small goddess.
With her light brown bobbed hair, she was Hestia, the goddess of home and the hearth.
She stirred the pile of firewood in the furnace with a poker while watching me closely.
What could she want, as she had been sitting quietly in a corner during the gods' meeting without offering any opinions?
I glanced around cautiously and sat down beside her.
"Is it possible to create a furnace in the Underworld?"
A furnace in the Underworld? That really is an odd combination.
Setting aside personal preferences, this would be an act of encroaching upon another god's domain.
From what I had observed, Hestia was certainly not a thoughtless or rude goddess.
What could she be thinking, bringing her symbol of home to the Underworld?
As I looked at Hestia with a puzzled expression, she spoke shyly.
"Well... you said we would create life forms other than our gods, right?"
That's true; we needed human heroes to win the war.
To sustain the survival of humans, many other life forms would likely be created.
"Since Zeus dislikes having his authority challenged, the new life forms probably won't be immortal, right?"
Of course.
As the king of the gods ruling the skies, Zeus was taking on the role of our leader.
I personally had little interest in power, but Poseidon seemed to have quite a bit of dissatisfaction.
The new life forms would likely be created as mortals without immortality, unable to threaten Zeus's authority.
It had been that way in mythology, so it would be no different here.
"Then, from now on, as your people increase, I want to comfort the poor souls who have gone to the Underworld, who must be trembling in fear."
We do not experience death.
Greek gods are not perfect absolute beings, but at least they are immortal.
Yet she is a gentle and kind goddess.
She is closer to compassion than punishment, more inclined to reward than to turn away.
Hestia, who felt sympathy for the trees swept away by Poseidon's earthquake, seemed to have thought about the death of living beings.
"Is there any way to at least do something about the entrance? Although the River Lethe makes you forget all memories, the fear of the Underworld must have been engraved in the souls."
Seeing my troubled expression, the kind goddess clasped her hands and pleaded.
Well, if it’s just the entrance to the Underworld outside the fortress, I suppose it wouldn’t matter.
As I slowly nodded, a red glow spread across her face, and she smiled brightly.
"Thank you for granting my request. Next time, I will personally visit the Underworld and create a furnace."
The Underworld might not be as dreary as I had thought.